President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in consultation with the Council of State, has granted a presidential pardon to Alhaji Salifu Mimina Osman, the former Deputy National Security Coordinator during John Dramani Mahama’s presidency.
Alhaji Salifu Mimina Osman had been serving a five-year jail term since 2020, following his involvement in the National Communications Authority (NCA) scandal, where he was convicted for wilfully causing financial loss to the state worth over $4 million.
On May 11, 2020, an Accra High Court sentenced three former board members of the National Communications Authority (NCA) to a total of 16 years’ imprisonment with hard labor for misappropriating funds in the procurement of controversial surveillance equipment for the National Security Council Secretariat. The convicted individuals are Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, the former Board chairman.
William Mathew Tetteh-Tevie, the former Director General; and Alhaji Salifu Osman Mimina, a former Deputy National Security Coordinator on the NCA Board.
The court found them guilty of 14 different charges, including causing financial loss to the state and contravening the Public Procurement Act. Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie was found guilty of eight charges, including conspiracy, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, and using public office for profit, resulting in a six-year imprisonment with hard labor. William Mathew Tetteh-Tevie and Alhaji Salifu Osman Mimina were both found guilty of five charges, but they received five-year imprisonment sentences.
In the main judgment, the court found that the purchase of the Pegasus equipment did not receive the required approval from the NCA board. The prosecution successfully demonstrated that the three accused conspired and acted in and acted in a manner that caused a financial loss of three million dollars to the state in the equipment procurement.
Queen Xorlali